US retains Zim on human trafficking hotspot list

THE United States (US) has kept Zimbabwe on a list of countries that are failing to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking amid claims that girls are being traded for sexual exploitation at a large scale.

According to the US Department of State, Zimbabwe did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to fight the scourge of human trafficking compared with the previous reporting period and this meant the country remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year.

In a statement on the release of the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report, secretary of State Marco Rubio said human trafficking was a

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